This Weekend at the Movies

The Scorpion King and Murder by Numbers hit screens everywhere on Friday.

By Brian Linder

Two new flicks are coming to movie theaters across North America this weekend. There are also quite a number of films arriving in limited release. Here's your weekly preview of what's on tap:

The Scorpion King, The Rock's debut in a leading role, is set to conquer audiences this weekend. The film, which also stars Kelly Hu and Michael Clarke Duncan, is a spin-off of The Mummy series. The story is set 5,000 years ago in the notorious city of Gomorrah, where an evil ruler is determined to conquer all the nomadic peoples of the desert. The few remaining tribes, never natural allies, have to unite or perish. Knowing their enemy relies on the visions of a sorcerer, they hire a skilled assassin, Mathayus (The Rock), to eliminate the visionary. After infiltrating the enemy camp, Mathayus discovers that the sorcerer is in fact a beautiful woman (Kelly Hu). Rather than eliminate her, he takes her deep into the desert badlands, knowing that the ruler's henchmen will stop at nothing to rescue her and bring her back. Seriously wounded in the ensuing battle, Mathayus must find the strength to lead his scrappy band of allies back to Gomorrah for a final confrontation.

Murder by Numbers is a new psychological suspense-thriller starring Sandra Bullock. The film follows a tenacious homicide detective (Bullock) and her new partner (Ben Chaplin) as they uncover a trail of shrewdly concealed evidence that links two brilliant young men (Ryan Gosling and Michael Pitt) to a murder.

This Warner Bros.' film is directed by Barbet Schroeder (Our Lady of the Assassins), from a script by Tony Gayton (The Salton Sea).

Murder by Numbers has been rated R by the MPAA for violence, language a sex scene and brief drug use.

Chelsea Walls is one of many new films going into limited release this weekend. The film marks the directorial debut of actor Ethan Hawke. It is set in the Chelsea Hotel, a formerly grand where the likes of Mark Twain, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix all stayed for a time. The building, its facade now rusty, is inhabited by New York City artists, hoping to be inspired by the ghosts of the past. Grace (Uma Thurman) and Audrey (Rosaria Dawson) are young poets, who constantly struggle with issues of art and love. Never learning from experience, they always seem to let the wrong men into their hearts. Grace should love Frank (Vincent D'Onofrio), an artist who respects and understands her. But she still responds to the siren call of the lover who went to Hollywood. Similarly, Audrey lets impenetrable Val (Mark Webber) back into her life, knowing he will leave again and maybe never return. Down the hall, Bud (Kris Kristofferson) is a writer who faces more endings than beginnings. He pretends that his wife, Greta, (Tuesday Weld) and his mistress, Mary, (Natasha Richardson) are his muses. But his novel is really fueled by an endless supply of alcohol, memories, and unfulfilled dreams. For every worn out writer, there are two new musicians who come to town. Ross (Steve Zahn) and Terry (Robert Sean Leonard) have just driven in from Minnesota, eager to experience the sights and sounds of the Chelsea Hotel. These new hotel residents, young and full of expectations, mingle with the old hotel ghosts and guests, ultimately becoming interchangeable. They form a community, linked by their dreams. The Chelsea Hotel never really leaves the people who live there, nor do they ever really leave it.

The Ethan Hawke-directed film was written by Nicole Burdette. It is rated R for language.